• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Healthy Living James

menu icon
go to homepage
  • Christmas
  • Recipes
  • My Book
  • Newsletter
  • About Me
  • Blog
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • TikTok
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Christmas
    • Recipes
    • My Book
    • Newsletter
    • About Me
    • Blog
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • TikTok
  • ×
    Home » Recipes » Dessert

    Published: Mar 9, 2023 · Modified: Aug 2, 2023 by James Wythe · This post may contain affiliate links

    Vegan Rocky Road

    Share it with your friends!

    • 222
    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
    close up of vegan rocky road

    This one is for the chocolate lovers out there! I’m so excited to share this Ultimate Vegan Rocky Road with you all, it truly is epic! This dairy free rocky road is so incredibly simple to make and really satisfies those chocolate cravings. I guarantee once you’ve made this quick and easy rocky road recipe, you’ll be making it time and time again, it’s a total game changer!

    Vegan rocky road in slices on parchment paper.

    Recipe Difficulty – Easy

    Jump to:
    • Why this recipe works
    • Ingredients to make Vegan Rocky Road
    • Substitutions
    • Variations
    • How to make Vegan Rocky Road
    • Leftovers
    • Recipe FAQs
    • Recipe
    • Reviews

    Why this recipe works

    These perfectly sweet gluten free rocky roads look super impressive! The pistachios and cranberries that give that red and green vibe make it look as though it was bought from a shop, when the reality is that this rocky road recipe is such an easy to homemade win! It is also super versatile and is the perfect recipe if you need an easy and minimal prep sweet snack, but also perfect if you are sharing with friends or family over the Easter period.

    I was inspired to create these vegan rocky roads as I’ve had chocolate on the mind! In the lead up to Easter I’ve been creating lots of new chocolatey recipes for you! My Chocolate Bounty Bars and Gluten Free Doughnuts are a massive favourite of mine as they remind me of my childhood, plus they’re a really fun recipe to get children involved with too.

    Ingredients to make Vegan Rocky Road

    Ingredients to make vegan rocky road in bowls on a white chopping board.
    • Cacao powder – This gives the rocky road its chocolate flavour, this is a really great ingredient to have in your cupboards and it is so versatile! I also use this to make my own Chocolate Truffles.
    • Maple syrup – I love to use maple syrup as a natural, unrefined sweetener
    • Coconut oil – I use coconut oil for texture and taste. The fat from the coconut oil make the chocolate in the rocky road taste extra creamy and silky, plus I like the subtle coconut flavours that adding coconut oil brings.
    • Almond milk – Adding almond milk adds a milky, creamy texture to the dairy free rocky roads
    • Nuts – I’ve used pistachios, pecans and almonds in my nut mix as they provide the perfect texture and crunch to this rocky road traybake.
    • Cranberries – I’ve added dried cranberries to this easy rocky road recipe to really enhance the flavour and texture. They’re quite a sharp berry so don’t over sweeten the rocky roads.

    See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

    Substitutions

    • Nuts – use any of your favourites in this rocky road traybake, just aim to keep the total quantities the same.
    • Fruit – not a fan of cranberries? Try dates, apricots, or raisins in this dairy free rocky road recipe! You could even remove the fruit entirely if you wish!
    • Almond milk – You could be substitute with an alternative plant based milk such as soya milk or coconut milk.
    • Vegan – this is a vegan rocky road recipe, but if you don’t necessarily need to remain vegan you can use a runny honey in place of the maple syrup or dairy milk instead of almond milk.

    Variations

    • Deluxe – If you wanted to make these vegan rocky roads look even more impressive you could add some vegan marshmallows into the recipe! I tend to freeze marshmallows in the freezer for around 10 minutes before adding them, this stops them melting and sticking together when you combine. You could also add some shredded coconut or even some orange zest for that extra zingy flavour! The great thing about this recipe is the versatility of it, if you wanted to add something, feel free!
    • Kid friendly – This Vegan Rocky Road recipe is great to get the children involved in. It is nice and simple and anything with chocolate in will get their attention! I have a great 3 Ingredient Oat Cookie recipe which is another simple yet fun recipe for children to get involved in. My 5 Ingredient Chocolate Flapjacks is another family favourite you should definitely try!

    How to make Vegan Rocky Road

    Nuts and dried fruit in a parchment lined baking sheet.

    Step 1: Firstly, add the nuts to a pan and lightly toast.

    Hint: keep an eye on them as the time goes quickly and they can easily burn. Meanwhile, place the remaining ingredients, minus cranberries, in a blender and combine well.

    Pouring melted cocoa over rocky road ingredients in a pan.

    Step 2: Now arrange half of the toasted nuts and fruit in a small lined pan and pour the prepared chocolate sauce evenly over the tray of nuts. Then press the remaining nuts and fruit into the top. Place in the freezer for 15 minutes or so, then remove and slice.

    Hint: make sure and line your pan with plenty of overhang. This will allow you to remove the entire rocky road to a cutting board for easy portioning.

    Leftovers

    The best thing about this vegan rocky road recipe is that it lasts for a while, so perfect if you wanted to make some ahead of having friends over! Store this dairy free rocky road in an airtight container for up to 5 days. It is best to keep the rocky roads in the fridge so they last a little longer and to ensure the coconut oil doesn’t melt.

    Recipe FAQs

    Can Vegan Rocky Road be frozen?

    Yes definitely! Store the vegan rocky road in an airtight container. When you’re ready to eat it, just leave it in the fridge until it is fully defrosted.

    Can I make nut-free rocky road?

    You definitely can, if you wanted to make this vegan rocky road nut free, remove the nuts entirely from the recipe and just use marshmallows and dried fruit instead! The great this about this rocky road recipe if you can add or remove anything you wish!

    Are salted nuts ok to use with this Vegan Rocky Road recipe?

    Some salt with sweet is always pleasant for me. I just don’t like to use all salted nuts as it quickly becomes overwhelming. However, this is totally your preference!

    Can I add biscuits to this Rocky Road Recipe?

    Yes of course, you can add whatever you wish! Sometimes I also add marshmallows!

    Rocky Road Top Tray.

    YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE…

    • Chocolate flapjacks cut into squares and presented layered on a blue plate. Plate is on a white background.
      5 Ingredient Chocolate Flapjacks
    • oat cookies displayed on white background.
      3 Ingredient Oat Cookies
    • chocolate almond & coconut balls
      Chocolate Almond & Coconut Balls
    • Chunky Chocolate Chip Cookies - Top
      Chunky Chocolate Chip Cookies

    Tried this Vegan Rocky Road recipe? Please leave a star rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below and let me know how you get on. Hearing positive feedback is one of the best parts of creating recipes so please review it below and leave a comment!

    P.S Never miss a new recipe! Get more healthy recipes sent straight to your inbox weekly – Subscribe and receive a free recipe eBook!

    Recipe

    Vegan rocky road in slices on parchment paper.

    Vegan Rocky Road

    This is the ultimate vegan rocky road recipe! It is so incredible simplex to make and really satisfied those chocolate cravings!
    4.35 from 20 votes
    Save for laterSaved!
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Christmas, Dessert
    Cuisine: British
    Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
    Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Freezing Time: 15 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 25 minutes minutes
    Servings: 15 squares
    Calories: 216kcal
    Author: James Wythe
    Cost: £10

    Equipment

    • Blender
    • Baking tray
    • baking paper
    • small frying pan

    Ingredients

    • 70 g pecans
    • 70 g almonds
    • 50 g pistachios (unsalted)
    • 50 g dried cranberries
    • 40 g cacao powder (roughly 1/2 cup)
    • 3 tablespoon maple syrup
    • 2 tablespoon almond milk
    • 200 g coconut oil melted
    Metric – US Customary

    Instructions

    • Firstly add all the nuts to a pan and lightly toast for 5 minutes
    • Meanwhile make the chocolate sauce by adding the melted coconut oil, cacao powder, almond milk and maple syrup to a cup blender and blend until smooth (30 seconds)
    • Line a small baking tray (9×6″) with baking paper and place in half the nuts and cranberries. Pour over the chocolate sauce then top the rest of the nuts and cranberries on top
    • Place flat in the freezer for 15-20 minutes. Remove and slice into squares or bars

    Notes

    Step-by-Step Photos: My blog post includes helpful step-by-step photos to help guide you through making this recipe.
    Substitutions & Variations: I have included a list of these in the post above.
    To Store:In an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
    To Freeze: I wouldn’t recommend freezing this recipe.
    Tip 1: You can swap cacao for cocoa here but the flavour won’t be as intense.
    Tip 2: Go wild with the toppings as use what you have/want.
    Tip 3: You can either melt the coconut oil in a pan/pot over low heat or in the microwave for 20 seconds.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 216kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 6g

    Please note that Nutrition information is a rough estimate

    Did you make this recipe? Tag me Today!Tag @HealthyLivingJames on Instagram and use #HealthyLivingJames!
    book banner image.

    Share it with your friends!

    • 222

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      Leave a Review Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Recipe Rating




    1. Donald Kerner says

      August 16, 2023 at 7:55 pm

      Haven’t made the recipe yet. Planning on doing so when my Vegetarian friend comes round (because I always accidentally buy non-Vegetarian Rocky Road and he eats it reluctantly) But for the Deluxe version you mentioned, how many grams of Vegan Marshmallows do you add?
      Thanks for reading and I await your response.

      Reply
      • James Wythe says

        August 22, 2023 at 10:06 am

        Hey Donald, I would say 100g of small marshmallows 🙂 enjoy!

        Reply
    2. L says

      May 10, 2023 at 8:36 pm

      Made these and they are absolutely lovely, not sweet, love the cranberries, I also added shredded coconut on top and flaky salt, i tan out of oat milk so I used heavy cream, worked out perfectly
      So yummy!
      Give it a try, you can’t go wrong!

      Reply
    3. L says

      May 08, 2023 at 8:06 pm

      Is 200grams of oil about a cup on the measuring cup
      Quite a bit of coconut oil
      Making it now
      Keep you posted
      Thank you

      Reply
    4. Sharra says

      April 16, 2023 at 12:42 pm

      Can honey be used in place of maple syrup? Looking forward to making this-thank you for posting!

      Reply
      • James Wythe says

        April 17, 2023 at 9:40 am

        Hey Sharra, yes as long as it’s a runny variety

        Reply
    5. Louise says

      January 04, 2022 at 10:40 pm

      5 stars
      Amazing taste sensation. So easy to make.
      How many calories do you think each slice is? Would love to know.
      Thank you for creating this.

      Reply
    6. Cindy says

      December 24, 2019 at 12:42 pm

      Can you help us American chaps convert measurements to cups, tablespoons, etc?

      Reply
      • Healthy Living James says

        December 26, 2019 at 8:58 am

        Hey Cindy, I will only be doing that myself by googling 🙂

        Reply
    7. Rich says

      December 22, 2019 at 3:52 pm

      5 stars
      Can’t taste difference between this vegan recipe and traditional RR! It’s amazing.
      Would like to see approx calorie count shown on recipes tho.

      Reply
      • Healthy Living James says

        December 23, 2019 at 9:18 am

        Yay glad you enjoyed them Rich 🙂 I understand, but I don’t count calories as it’s not an important factor to me so my website follows suit on that and it won’t change unfortunately.

        Reply
    8. Catherine says

      December 14, 2019 at 3:45 pm

      5 stars
      Wow, wow, wow. I finally made this today. It is fabulous. My only comment is that my chocolate sauce was so thick I had to add some of the still hot nuts to melt the sauce to enable me to pour it over the rest of the nuts. But it tastes fantastic

      Reply
      • Healthy Living James says

        December 16, 2019 at 9:21 am

        Hey Catherine, sorry about that! I assume it’s down to different branded products making it so thick! Potentially the milk, I use quite a thin almond milk (Rude Health) so thicker plant-based milks might make the mix thicker. I would just add more milk in that case to thin it out 🙂

        Reply

    Primary Sidebar

    Hey, I’m James! A fully qualified Health Coach, Author and Professional Food Blogger with over 1 million followers. My aim is to inspire you to cook easy and delicious home cooked food. 12 years ago I fell seriously ill out of the blue which left me bed bound for 2 years and house bound for the next 4 years. I opened my blog in 2016 to share the easy allergy friendly recipes that I taught myself to cook.

    More about me →

    • Instagram
    • Facebook
    • TikTok
    • Pinterest

    My Cookbook

    BUY NOW

    Popular

    • lasagne slice being lifted from baking dish full of lasagne.
      The Best Vegan Lasagne
    • oat cookies displayed on white background.
      3 Ingredient Oat Cookies
    • overhead shot of tomato risotto in large shallow frying pan on white surface.
      Easy One Pot Tomato Risotto
    • slices of banana bread on top of beach other on white surface with white background.
      Easy Gluten Free Vegan Banana Bread
    • overhead shot of peanut butter curry in large white casserole dish.
      10 Minute Peanut Butter Curry
    • Breakfast Banana Bars Stacked
      Breakfast Banana Bars

    Christmas Recipes

    • Easy-Lentil-Wellington
      Easy Lentil Wellington
    • Cooked Cauliflower Cheese in black skillet pan. Pan is displayed on white marble background
      Vegan Cauliflower Cheese
    • rosemary infused roast potatoes in a baking dish on a white marble background
      Rosemary Roast Potatoes
    • Yorkshire puddings towered on a blue/black plate covered in gravy.
      Vegan Yorkshire Puddings (Gluten Free)
    • Christmas Nut Roast
    • overhead of vegan chocolate tart sliced with golden cake slice and topped with berries.
      Vegan Chocolate Tart
    • a closeup of this homemade Christmas Hot Chocolate in a white coffee mug garnished with cacao powder and cinnamon sticks.
      Christmas Hot Chocolate
    • Baked Christmas Salmon

    Featured On

    Hey, I’m James! A fully qualified Health Coach, Author and Professional Food Blogger with over 1 million followers. My aim is to inspire you to cook easy and delicious home cooked food. 12 years ago I fell seriously ill out of the blue which left me bed bound for 2 years and house bound for the next 4 years. I opened my blog in 2016 to share the easy allergy friendly recipes that I taught myself to cook.

    More about me →

    • Instagram
    • Facebook
    • TikTok
    • Pinterest

    My Cookbook

    BUY NOW

    Popular

    • lasagne slice being lifted from baking dish full of lasagne.
      The Best Vegan Lasagne
    • oat cookies displayed on white background.
      3 Ingredient Oat Cookies
    • overhead shot of tomato risotto in large shallow frying pan on white surface.
      Easy One Pot Tomato Risotto
    • slices of banana bread on top of beach other on white surface with white background.
      Easy Gluten Free Vegan Banana Bread
    • overhead shot of peanut butter curry in large white casserole dish.
      10 Minute Peanut Butter Curry
    • Breakfast Banana Bars Stacked
      Breakfast Banana Bars

    Christmas Recipes

    • Easy-Lentil-Wellington
      Easy Lentil Wellington
    • Cooked Cauliflower Cheese in black skillet pan. Pan is displayed on white marble background
      Vegan Cauliflower Cheese
    • rosemary infused roast potatoes in a baking dish on a white marble background
      Rosemary Roast Potatoes
    • Yorkshire puddings towered on a blue/black plate covered in gravy.
      Vegan Yorkshire Puddings (Gluten Free)
    • Christmas Nut Roast
    • overhead of vegan chocolate tart sliced with golden cake slice and topped with berries.
      Vegan Chocolate Tart
    • a closeup of this homemade Christmas Hot Chocolate in a white coffee mug garnished with cacao powder and cinnamon sticks.
      Christmas Hot Chocolate
    • Baked Christmas Salmon

    Featured On

    Footer

    ^ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Accessibility Policy

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact
    • About Me

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2023 Healthy Living James LTD